What if I told you there was a way to improve your grades in FIVE MINUTES without any studying or any homework?
Well, it’s true.
In some cases, you can improve your grades if you apply a very valuable principle:
COMMUNICATION!
What many students with disappointing grades don’t realize is that your teachers (at least most of them) actually care about your learning. They want you to succeed. And they want you to care. So if you get a grade you don’t like, you don’t think is fair, or you are shocked by then:
TALK TO YOUR TEACHER!
When you talk to your teacher, there are a few things you can address or go over:
Ask “WHAT DID I DO WRONG?” if it isn’t clear.
Sometimes you miss questions you don’t actually understand. Other times teachers give low grades with few comments. Figuring out what your teacher expects can help you raise your future grades with little or no additional work.
Ask “WHAT CAN I DO to improve my grade?”
Sometimes teachers will extend extra credit. Other times teachers will give you tips on how to better study or what to focus on in class.
If you feel a grade is unfair, or feel asking is appropriate, ASK IF YOU CAN REDO THE ASSIGNMENT for a new grade.
Often, though not always, teachers will show compassion to a student who was confused by or did not fully understand an assignment or the grading parameters– or even who just shows the initiative to try to improve. Sometimes teachers will even simply REGRADE the same paper without making you redo it if you make a case for how hard you worked or how you went above and beyond.
BRING YOUR “IN PROGRESS” work to the teacher before turning it in.
Ask if you’re on the right track BEFORE you hand in an assignment.
Even if you walk away and feel as though you didn’t gain much insight, you did gain something– an assertion of your personal intent and interest in getting good grades. Teachers may try to stay unbiased, but inevitably, taking the time to talk to them about your academic results will make them feel more interested in seeing you succeed– when they grade your work, they’ll be grading it with that hope in mind. That alone can lead to a bump in your performance, even if you don’t actually improve all that much. Talking to them will also have a positive psychological effect on YOU: you’ll be focused on finding more ways to succeed and being more strategic about your studying and approach to classes.
Want more nifty tips like these? Check out these helpful posts!
http://supertutortv.com/main/mnemonics-the-best-way-to-learn-vocabulary/
http://supertutortv.com/main/why-you-shouldnt-study/
http://supertutortv.com/main/how-to-speed-read/
